Tag: documentary

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Gay-For-Pay Porn Performer Tells Documentary: “I’m 100% Straight”

Gay-for-pay porn actor Dan McGraffin says he does his job for the money
Daniel McGraffin (image via Instagram)
In a new documentary from Channel 5 in the U.K., former military service member Daniel McGraffin says he found it difficult to find a decent paying job until he discovered he could earn up to £1,000 a day as a gay-for-pay porn actor. Sharing his story in The Sex Business: Swinging Both Ways, McGraffin says he spent six years as a soldier in the artillery until one day, due to lack of sleep, he snapped. At the end of a two-week leave, he went AWOL for a year. He was sentenced to 8 months in a military prison, and upon his release went in search of a job. After working as a janitor in a gym, then as a personal trainer and a DJ, a friend (who works as a dominatrix) told him about a guy who was “totally straight but does gay porn.” She put him in contact with a producer who told McGraffin “the majority of it’s fake” and hired the former military service member for £750 for a shoot. McGraffin liked the experience – and the money – so he researched the porn industry and eventually landed a 3-year contract with Lucas Entertainment.

 

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He says he looked into the straight porn industry but found “in gay porn, there’s way less competition, and there’s no money in straight porn. For a straight guy, there’s way more money in gay porn.” And so, he decided to work as a gay-for-pay performer. McGraffin, who goes by the stage name Geordie Jackson, pointedly shares in the documentary, “My sexual identity is straight, one hundred percent straight.” His girlfriend, Freya, appears in the documentary as well and she’s totally onboard with McGraffin’s career choice. “It’s fake,” she tells the viewer. “People say he must be a little bit gay, [but] when he gets back, he doesn’t want to think about anyone with a d**k.” Freya explains if he was working in straight porn it might bother her since there would be the potential for him to be attracted to co-stars, but with men “that risk isn’t there.” https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JF-X_nbNg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link McGraffin admits there are people who say he’s gay because he looks so at ease in his videos, but he just takes that as a compliment on his acting skills. “They don’t know the tricks of the trade,” he explains. “They say ‘you look like you’re enjoying it’. And I say, ‘thanks, that means I’m a good actor.’” Asked if he considers himself an ally to the LGBTQ community, he’s unsure but shares that his brother is openly gay. He also explains the logic, at least for him, for remaining in the adult entertainment industry as a gay-for-pay performer. “I ain’t smart, academically,”  he admits. “It’s either this or going to work in a warehouse, ’cause I have no qualifications. I have driving qualifications, but obviously, I’ve had one of them lifestyles where I’ve been banned from driving. So driving jobs are a no go.” “You need to make your money, man,” he continues. “I’m glad I found porn because I make more money now than I ever have. I see the perks of it now, I don’t even think about what I’ve got to do anymore, it’s that easy.” Some viewers, however, took to Twitter to express their skepticism about the “100% straight” label and also take offense at the gay-for-pay idiom. We’re not here to judge, though. How McGraffin identifies is his own business. And speaking of ‘business,’ check out some of the adult entertainer’s Instagram account below.

 

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(source: Daily Mail)

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New Madonna Documentary: “The World Of Madame X”

Amazon Prime Video recently added a new short-form documentary, The World of Madame X, which chronicles the evolution of Madonna’s latest number one album, Madame X.

Amazon Prime Video recently added a new short-form documentary, The World of Madame X, which chronicles the evolution of Madonna’s latest number one album, Madame X.

The 23-minute film shares how the Queen of Pop was given the nickname ‘Madame X’ when she was 19-year-old and a new transplant to New York City.

Madge also explains how her new album, Madame X, which recently debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, came to fruition while living in Lisbon, Portugal.

Living in Lisbon, Madonna shares she was happy to be there for her son, who wanted to train for soccer.

But, she also says she became “lonely” as she didn’t really know anyone there, much like when she first moved to New York City. “I knew that I had to find my tribe, so to speak,” she adds.

Along the way, she developed a friendship with Dino d’Santiago, a Portuguese singer, who invited her to living-room music sessions, where local singers and instrumentalists gather in someone’s home to play music.

“What struck me most was this organic, authentic feeling of people being there because they just love music,” says the international pop star. “Money had nothing to do with it. Fame had nothing to do with it. Instagram followers had nothing to do with it. It was really about passion, and music, and art.”

After recording several of the living room jam sessions, Madonna felt she had to “take what I’m hearing, and turn it upside down.”

She sent clips to her longtime producer, Mirwais, writing, “I know this is crazy, but tell me if it inspires you. Let’s chop up the guitar sounds, and synch them to modern sounding drums.”

According to Madge, a week later he had sent back his musical interpretations of the clips, which she described as “amazing,” adding that the new tracks left her “super inspired.”

As she continued “meeting musicians from all these places,” she allowed their work to influence her. And that, as Madonna says, is “how these songs came to be.”

“I had landed in a magical world,” says Madonna in the new documentary-short.

You can check out a 3 minute clip from the documentary below, and find the full short film on Amazon Video here.

There are also two, brand-new Amazon Original remixes of tracks from Madonna’s new album from Robbie Rivera and Erick Morillo.

Madonna is currently prepping for a series of rare, intimate concerts that will be held exclusively in theaters. The best-selling female solo touring artist of all time, her tour begins September 12 in New York City. For more info about the upcoming concerts, click here.

More from the Amazon Video documentary via Instagram:

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Oscar-Winning Producer Working On Pete Buttigieg Documentary

A film production company is currently shooting a documentary that will chronicle the presidential campaign of openly gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg

A film production company is currently shooting a documentary that will chronicle the presidential campaign of openly gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

The production company, Story Syndicate, was founded by veteran filmmakers Dan Cogan (Oscar winner for Icarus) and Liz Garbus (Oscar-nominated for What Happened, Miss Simone?).

According to Axios, the independently funded film will document Mayor Pete’s “rise to national attention.”

Film crews have been seen filming at Buttigieg campaign events as well as at last week’s first Democratic presidential debates in Miami.

Buttigieg isn’t the first millennial politician to get the indie film treatment, though.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the focus of the campaign trail doc Knock Down the House, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke was the subject of HBO’s Running with Beto.

Documentaries have been useful tools for younger politicians to be a part of creating their own narrative. The Ocasio-Cortez and O’Rourke projects helped establish the candidates with younger voters as the films landed at platforms that appeal to those demographics.

The Buttigieg project hasn’t been picked up by a distributor or streaming service as of yet, according to Axios, as the film’s future is “contingent on the outcome of Buttigieg’s campaign.”

That said, it’s easy to imagine the narrative taking several directions.

As the first openly gay presidential candidate to be a serious contender, that story alone could warrant documenting.

If he were to clinch the nomination, he’d be the youngest Democratic presidential nominee in history.

Or, there’s been much talk of him being considered as a running mate for other Democratic candidates. Lots of chatter about a Kamala Harris/Pete Buttigieg ticket going on…
All of these could make for a compelling documentary.

But, there’s a long road ahead in this election cycle, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

(source: Axios)

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America’s First Superstar Fashion Designer Gets The Documentary Treatment ‘HALSTON’

Long before folks were getting their fashion fix discovering new design talent on Project Runway, Americans were gaga over the disco-chic glamour of Halston.

The new documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng (Dior & I), titled Halston, chronicles the rise of America’s first superstar fashion designer.

From a Midwest childhood in conservative Des Moines, Iowa, to landing a job as a hatmaker at the famed Bergdorf Goodman department store, to putting that famous pill box hat on former First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s head, the film follows the life and times of Roy Halston Frowick as he became famous as simply ‘Halston.’

Using rare archival footage along with interviews with family, friends and famous clients like Liza Minnelli (“His clothes danced with you”), supermodel Iman, and Andy Warhol, Tcheng takes the audience behind-the-scenes as Halston struggles to find his artistic legacy amid the pressures of big business.

Halston’s meteoric rise during the celebrity disco culture of the 1970s was sadly followed by a just-as-quick fall from grace after the designer sold his brand to JC Penney for a rumored $1 billion. Apparently, the glam was gone when you could buy it at the local mall.

He would eventually pass away at the age of 57 in 1990 due to lung cancer related to HIV.

It is a fascinating story and the critics have raved about the film:

“A rollercoaster of fabulousness and folly” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Gripping…Thrilling stuff. A riveting ride.” – Variety

Halston gets the red carpet treatment at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on May 24 prior to a wider release.

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Steve Bannon Concerned About Upcoming Doc Film ‘The Brink’

After allowing filmmakers to follow him for a year, former White House adviser and Trump campaign chair Steve Bannon isn't happy about the resulting documentary, "The Brink"
Steve Bannon

After allowing filmmakers to follow him for a year, former White House adviser and Trump campaign chair Steve Bannon isn’t happy about the resulting documentary.

Despite his cooperation, the doc film draws a “damaging portrait” of his efforts in spreading a nationalist message.

“If I had not come on as CEO of the campaign, Trump would not have won,” Bannon says in a preview of The Brink.

Pretty sure the Donald won’t be happy to hear that.

From the official description:

THE BRINK follows Bannon through the 2018 mid-term elections in the United States, shedding light on his efforts to mobilize and unify far-right parties in order to win seats in the May 2019 European Parliamentary elections. To maintain his power and influence, the former Goldman Sachs banker and media investor reinvents himself — as he has many times before — this time as the self-appointed leader of a global populist movement. Keen manipulator of the press and gifted self-promoter, Bannon continues to draw headlines and protests wherever he goes, feeding the powerful myth on which his survival relies.

One critic called the film “a damaging portrait,” and Variety wrote “the film sees through his hate games.”

Watch the trailer below. Arriving in theaters March 29.

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Michael Jackson Documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ Described As ‘Disturbing’

Michael Jackson (image via Flickr/Francesco)

Leaving Neverland, the new four-hour documentary that focuses on two alleged cases of sexual abuse by pop star Michael Jackson, debuted last night at the Sundance Film Festival.

From People:

The emotional film was only halfway through when viewers began sharing their thoughts on the “sickening” claims from James Safechuck and Wade Robson, both of whom say they endured years of Jackson’s inappropriate behaviors and manipulation.

“It’s halftime at the four-hour Michael Jackson doc and I’m already gonna need 400 showers to ever feel clean again. #Sundance” David Ehrlich, a Senior Film Critic at Indie Wire, tweeted after the doc’s first two hours.

“On a 10-min break halfway through Sundance’s 4-hour Michael Jackson child sex abuse documentary,” wrote Kevin Fallon, Senior Entertainment Reporter at The Daily Beast.

“Whatever you thought you knew or were aware of, the content of this is more disturbing than you could imagine. And again, we’re only halfway through.”

In response, fans argued back that there was “no evidence” and that people “never tried to understand Michael and see who he really was.”

“You are falling for the wrong stuff & you are being played and you will see that pretty soon! Wait on it,” wrote one fan.

Robson claims he first met Jackson at the age of 5 in his native Australia.

Two years later, his family was invited to stay at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch home in California, where he claims he slept in Jackson’s bed and said he was first sexually abused by him.

Robson says the abuse went on for seven years and ended because he grew out of an age that Jackson was interested in.

However, Robson testified as a witness for Jackson’s defense during a sexual abuse trial in 2005 where the pop star was acquitted of child molestation charges.

Safechuck claimed in 2014 that he was sexually abused by the icon when he was 10 years old after appearing in a Pepsi commercial with him.

Safechuck says that his relationship with Jackson culminated in joining Jackson on his Bad tour, and it was then that the alleged sexual abuse began.

The Jackson estate issued a statement to People in advance of the premiere of Leaving Neverland, which read:

“This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson.

“Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed ‘master of deception’, filed lawsuits against Michael’s Estate, asking for millions of dollars. Both lawsuits were dismissed.

“This so called ‘documentary’ is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations.

“It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

Jackson died in 2009 at the age of 50 in his L.A. mansion.

Leaving Neverland premieres on HBO this spring.

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There Is Nothing Like A ‘Dame’

Dames Maggie Smith, Joan Plo

Truly, no one throws friendly shade like a Dame.

And by ‘Dame,’ I mean those delicious British divas, Dames Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins, who are featured in the upcoming documentary, Tea with the Dames.

Set in a British country house, the four actresses spend a day together allowing cameras to capture friendships dating back more than half a century. The four icons chat on their careers and spill the ‘tea’ a bit.

The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In a one-minute teaser below, Judi Dench shares her belief that “We’re going to work forever, if we’re asked.”

Without a pause, Maggie Smith, who knows how to drop a good line, replies, “But, you’re always asked first, if I may say so.”

“I’m turning on you, it’s all coming out now,” Smith says with a hint of smile.

Plowright, after adjusting her hearing aid, chimes in saying her American agent has told her in the past that they are always on the lookout for “a nice cameo that Judi Dench hasn’t got her paws on.”

Brilliant.

EW also reports that the grand ‘Dames’ didn’t go easy on the film crew either.

The session gets off to a shady start right from the get-go as the women pose for a photo while cutting the crew down to size.

“That’s an awful angle. It’s not fair to old ladies,” Atkins quips as Smith cackles before asking an off-camera photographer, “Is it your first day?”

When asked about working with their husbands, Plowright admits, “Obviously mine was the most difficult.”

Smith, again with the dry retort, “Well, we all found him tricky.”

For those who miss Smith’s drop-dead delivery, you’ll be happy to know the upcoming Downton Abbey movie has announced a release date of September 20, 2019.

Here’s the full trailer for Tea with the Dames. Take a break and enjoy the shade with the ‘Dames.’

Tea with the Dames is in limited release on September 21.

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Documentary: ‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’

From the official synopsis:

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a handsome ex-Marine who landed in Hollywood after World War II and became confidante, aide-de-camp and lover to many of Hollywood’s greatest male—and female—stars.

In the 1940s and ‘50s, Scotty ran a gas station in the shadow of the studio lots where he would connect his friends with actors and actresses who had to hide their true sexual identities for fear of police raids at gay bars, societal shunning and career suicide. An unsung Hollywood legend, Bowers would cater to the sexual appetites of celebrities—straight and gay–for decades.

The list of A-list celebrities Bowers attended to reads like a who’s who of golden age Hollywood. Rock Hudson, Cole Porter, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn were among the stars Bowers reportedly catered to.

The documentary is based on the New York Times best-selling memoir Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars.

After having a successful run on the film festival circuit, the film opens in Los Angeles on July 27 and on August 3 in NYC.

Watch the trailer below.

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Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds Wants To Change How Mormon Church Sees LGBTQ Youth

LGBTQ ally Dan Reynolds, of Imagine Dragons, wants the Mormon Church to rethink how it views LGBTQ youth
Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons

How much do we love Grammy Award-winning Imagine Dragons frontman, Dan Reynolds?

Raised Mormon, Reynolds has spent years fighting for greater LGBTQ acceptance within the church.

Growing up, the native Utahn had a middle school friend who was Mormon and gay, and he watched how the struggles of trying to resolve the two worlds wore on his friend. Reynolds also says he’s lost high school friends to suicide.

Determined to affect change, he and former Mormon rocker Tyler Glenn teamed up last year to create the annual music festival LoveLoud held in Salt Lake City which aims to raise money for LGBTQ charities and organizations like The Trevor Project and the Tegan and Sara Foundation.

This year the event takes place on July 28.

“I think the LoveLoud stage is the most important stage I will ever stand on,” the 30-year-old recently told Queerty. “The festival has helped facilitate vital conversation about what it means to truly love and accept our LGBTQ youth.”

New documentary 'Believer' follows Dan Reynolds mission to perpetuate change within the Mormon Church and how it treats LGBTQ youth

The new documentary, Believer, follows Reynolds as he launched the music festival last year and also explores how the Mormon Church treats its LGBTQ members.

“I hope people understand the importance of fully accepting and loving our LGBTQ youth,” says Reynolds about the film. “I hope people are able to watch and feel the harsh realities that our LGBTQ youth are facing in faith-based communities. I hope it perpetuates change.”

Watch the trailer for Believer below and check out info for LoveLoud Music Festival here.

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Out Documentary: “The Fabulous Allan Carr”

thefabulousallancarr_mlojf.jpg

Emmy Award-winning documentarian Jeffrey Schwarz has delivered his latest peek behind the scenes of Hollywood in exploring the life and career of producer Allan Carr, The Fabulous Allan Carr.

The documentary chronicles the enormous successes of Carr (Grease, La Cage Aux Folles) as well as his most infamous disasters (Grease 2, You Can’t Stop The Music, the 1989 Academy Awards Show).

Back in the day when “flamboyant” was as direct as you could be in terms of addressing someone’s homosexuality, Carr boldly lived his life out loud.

Born Allan Solomon (he changed his name to Carr because he rhymed with “star”), Carr moved from his hometown of Chicago to Los Angeles to become a part of the world he had only dreamed of.

Donned in caftans to hide his up-down-and-up again weight gains, the producer/manager threw lavish pool parties at his glamorous mansion entertaining Hollywood A-listers as well as the town’s hottest gays.

According to legend, it was when the stars departed that the party would devolve into an orgy to satisfy Carr’s voyeurism for observing hot LA boys.

His early career consisted of managing celebrities like Marlo Thomas, Ann-Margret, Tony Curtis, Peter Sellers, Rosalind Russell, and Dyan Cannon. Carr was instrumental in helping Ann-Margret shift from young sex kitten into a full-fledged star on the Las Vegas Strip as well as taking on roles in movies like Tommy and Carnal Knowledge, for which she would be nominated for an Oscar.

After working in a promotional capacity on films Tommy and Saturday Night Fever with producer Robert Stigwood, Carr moved into full-on producing with a pet project that would put him on the Hollywood map, the massively successful film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease.

Starring up-and-coming John Travolta, who was known at the time for his turn on TV’s Welcome Back Kotter, and Grammy Award winning pop star Olivia Newton-John, the musical film became Carr’s ticket to the big time.

To this day the film – which is the highest grossing movie musical of all time – continues airing on some network somewhere at any given time of day, and is celebrating it’s 40 anniversary this year.

Unfortunately, he followed that enormous triumph with the late-to-the-disco-party musical film, You Can’t Stop The Music. Meant as a vehicle to introduce The Village People to the world, the 1980 film, which starred Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine and Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner, was a major misfire that was ripped by critics and avoided by movie-goers.

Carr shifted back to more familiar terrain in 1982 with the Michelle Pfeiffer/Maxwell Caulfield tuner Grease 2, which also failed at the box office although it has carried on as a camp classic.

Then came redemption as Carr produced the smash Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles in 1983. Not only did the show win six Tony Awards (including one for Carr as producer of the “Best Musical”) but it brought him some of the “respectability” he had always craved. And in true Carr style, the show gave Broadway its first-ever openly gay musical love story.

Carr’s last final big-time moment came when he was tapped to produce the 1989 Academy Awards which featured the now-infamous Rob Lowe/“Snow White” opening number.

While most remember the opening number, Schwarz makes a point to give credit to Carr for two lasting changes at the Oscars.

It was Carr who came up with the new announcement “and the Oscar goes to…” instead of “the winner is.”

And he is credited with creating the now-show-biz-standard release approach of opening a film the last month of the year in one theater in Los Angeles and one theater in New York City to create Oscar buzz.

But the Academy Awards debacle and criticism hurt Carr deeply, and he became something of a recluse after that. He did manage to have a last hurrah attending the 20th anniversary of Grease re-release in 1998 before succumbing to cancer in 1999 at the age of 62.

The documentary rightly makes a point to highlight Carr’s self-promotional skills as he was one of the first producers to make himself a celebrity of sorts. Rarely had a Hollywood producer appeared on so many of the top talk shows of the day before Carr.

Like his earlier documentaries I Am Divine and Tab Hunter: Confidential, this should be required viewing for the gay history alone. Based on the larger-than-life personality along with spectacular hits and notorious misses that touch on so many gay-centric projects (he gave us The Village People, folks), I recommend the film.

Carr himself is a compelling subject in light of his personal over-the-top Hollywood flair, but also his darker, injured moments.

The film is now available via Video-On-Demand. Find more info about the film at the official website.

Watch the trailer below: